BBC director general Tony Hall vows to lead corporation through crisis

Tony Hall, the new director-general of the BBC, has vowed to lead the broadcaster through its crisis and restore public confidence.

Tony Hall will take up the role in March next year (Picture: Reuters)

The former head of the Royal Opera House was handed the £450,000-a-year role just 12 days after beleaguered George Entwistle resigned.

BBC Trust chairman Lord Patten said Lord Hall, who was made a crossbench peer in 2010, would start the job in March, with acting director general Tim Davie remaining in his post until then.

‘It’s been a really tough few weeks for this organisation and I know we can get through it by listening patiently and by thinking carefully about what to do next,’ Lord Hall said outside the BBC’s headquarters in London.

‘I care passionately about the BBC, about what it can do, its programme-makers and the impact we have in all sorts of different ways.’

He added: ‘It’s one of those extraordinary organisations which is an absolutely essential part of Britain, of the UK, of who we are. But also has this incredible impact around the world too.

‘I know that with the right creative team in place, working off each other, sparking off each other, giving each other ideas, you can do extraordinary creative things and I want to build a world-class team for this world-class organisation.’

The BBC has moved quickly to appoint a replacement to Mr Enwistle after he left earlier this month, just 54 days into the job, over a Newsnight investigation that led to false allegations of child abuse against former Conservative Party treasurer Lord McAlpine.

Lord Hall was head of BBC News and current affairs between 1996 and 2001; helping to launch BBC News Online, BBC News 24 and BBC Parliament.

Mr Entwistle’s resignation left the BBC in crisis after the corporation had already been rocked by allegations of a cover-up over decades of child abuse by late presenter and DJ Jimmy Savile.

Lord Patten said Lord Hall, 61, was the ‘right person’ to ensure the BBC took a ‘long, hard look at the way it operates and put in place the changes required to ensure it lives up to the standards that the public expects’.

Culture secretary Maria Miller said: ‘Congratulations to Tony Hall on appointment as new BBC DG, has a very strong track record in successfully leading iconic organisations.’

Her shadow Harriet Harman added: ‘Tony Hall excellent choice for BBC DG. Right person to bring stability in these difficult times. Look forward to working with him.’

Lord Patten (right) said Lord Hall was not considered when George Entwistle was appointed (Picture: AP)

‘Tony Hall has been an insider and is a currently an outsider. As an ex-BBC man he understands how the corporation’s culture and behaviour make it, at its best, the greatest broadcaster in the world,’ Lord Patten continued.

‘And from his vantage point outside the BBC, he understands the sometimes justified criticisms of the corporation – that it can be inward looking and on occasions too institutional.

‘But perhaps most importantly, given where we now find ourselves, his background in news will prove invaluable as the BBC looks to rebuild both its reputation in this area and the trust of audiences.’

Jimmy Savile (Picture: PA)

Lord McAlpine (Picture: PA)

Lord Patten confirmed that the appointment was made after a direct approach to Lord Hall, rather than the usual recruitment process.

‘Just over four months ago the Trust completed a thorough recruitment process. Tony Hall wasn’t available then but I am delighted he has agreed to come on board now,’ Lord Patten said, suggesting he would have chosen Lord Hall over Mr Enwistle.

‘Of course we might have considered going through the whole lengthy recruitment process again with a new round of advertisements and another global hunt for candidates.

‘But I believe the approach we have taken is ultimately in the interests of the BBC and, most importantly, licence fee payers as we have got the best candidate and he will help the organisation quickly get back on an even keel.’

Although Newsnight did not explicitly name Lord McAlpine in its report, its claim that a senior Tory figure was linked to abuse at the Bryn Estyn children’s home in north Wales led to the peer being named online.

The BBC has already agreed to pay out £185,000 in damages to Lord McAlpine, while several independent inquiries are underway into why a Newsnight investigation into Savile was dropped last December and whether the culture of the BBC had allowed him to abuse his victims.